Bataan coal plant completion delayed

MANILA, Philippines — The completion of a coal-fired power plant in Bataan has been further pushed back to the third quarter due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.

The management of Aboitiz Power Corp. acknowledged that the virus outbreak affected the construction of GNPower Dinginin Coal Plant Ltd. Co., a joint venture with AC Energy and Power Partners Ltd. Co.

“The management acknowledged that the recent virus outbreak, which initially affected the construction of GNPower Dinginin, will put pressure on its operations,” Regina Capital Development Corp. said in its research report.

GNPower Dinginin, a 2x668-MW supercritical coal-fired power project, was supposed to be completed in 2019 but was pushed back to this year.

The first unit was targeted to start operating by June, while the second unit should follow six months after.

However, the COVID-19 spread had an impact on GNPower Diningin’s technicians, AboitizPower said.

“According to the management, some of its crucial EPC workers and technicians went to China during the Chinese New Year celebration and were unable to return to the Philippines due to the travel ban,” Regina Capital said.

To address the delay in the project’s completion, AboitizPower shifted workers from unit 1 to unit 2 and by hiring locals.  However, this will still delay the project’s completion.

“The management assured that the progress on track and unit 1 will likely come online by October. Meanwhile, unit 2’s operations are hinged on the lifting of the travel ban,” Regina Capital said.

COVID-19, a SARS-like virus, emerged on Dec. 31 in Wuhan, China.